War Games
by zoe.shepherd.56
Summary: The story of a lonely knight and his lonely squire. A Sims Medieval story (Author note: there will be yaoi so don't like don't read.)
1. Prologue

Prologue

The Watcher was sat in the heavens. Today was a momentous day. Today two soul mates were destined to meet. One was just waking, the other had been awake since the sun had risen and was moving closer and closer, not realising who he would soon be meeting.

The Watcher smiled at the Squire Eli, as he wove his way through the village just beyond the city gates. The people there were just beginning to leave their homes for work and the atmosphere was jovial. It was that kind of place, that kind of country to be honest.

The Queen of the land was young but brave and clever with a political mind unlike anything ever seen before. She was universally adored by her public and those who knew her, especially by her husband, the Prince Consort. It hadn't always been like that however.

The past of the Kingdom and the main leaders was dark. Incredibly dark. It had all started the day of twenty deaths.  
The day that the parents of every Hero in the City had died in one fell swoop. A day filled with horror and sadness. Nearly every Hero had left, bar the young Queen. She was obviously unable, and had to become a ruler at the tender age of four, however her Reagent through those years had been a great diplomat, almost as good as the Queen herself would turn out to be.

But then, he died suddenly. It was obvious to The Watcher's vantage point that he had been murdered. Killed by the man who then became the new Reagent. He was a bad choice. He was ruthless, corrupt and worst of all, he had an unhealthy interest in very young girls. It was no accident that the young Queen happened to fall into his preferred age range.

It was this abuse, however, that had caused Sir Trenton Goodwin to come back to his home city. He had been close to Queen when they were young, and when he had heard the rumours he immediately travelled back home.

That was all done with now though, and happiness was prevalent throughout the Kingdom. Maybe that's an exaggeration.

The Watcher was worried about Trenton. He had had a rough life and his mental scars ran deep, like the Queen. The Queen was happier than him, however, because of the Prince Consort. The Watcher had come realise that Trenton needed a life partner to balance him, if he was to pass the trials ahead. Now all She needed to do was to make the two men realise that.


	2. Chapter one- Summons

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sims medieval though technically all the character are mine I guess…**

**Anyway on with the story!**

* * *

Summons

Trenton POV

I moaned and held my face in my hands. "Ow." I muttered weakly as my headache pulsed and opened my eyes. I quickly scrunched them closed again as bright morning light from my open windows slanted across the room straight into them. I'd forgotten to draw my curtains before I'd left for the evening, yesterday.

Great.

I rolled over onto my left side away from the window to stop the sun from succeeding at blinding me while I continued to wake up. I slowly inched over to the other side of my double bed and succeeded at the tricky manoeuvre of getting out with a hangover and managing to keep your stomach contents. I stretched as I went through my morning routine. I hummed to myself as I looked through my knapsack for my cooking ingredients. The tune was from a play my good friend Bard Arsleif Summerbird, had invited me to the night before. Hence the hangover. It was a brilliant play, with a bit of everything. Daring sword fights, corrupt Kings, virtuous heroes and beautiful, kick-arse heroines. I'd loved it.

I smiled at the memories of my five good friends. Spy Cale, Blood-letter Cameron, Arsleif, Prince Consort Lyon and Amy the Queen of Hearts.

I realised I had gotten distracted and quickly resumed a fruitless search. I'd also forgotten to restock my cooking supplies.

Great. My memory loss was astounding.

I had to settle for a plain bowl of gruel. "What a thoroughly uninspiring meal." I commented aloud as I stared at a spoonful of the grey sludge. I almost gagged as it slid down my throat but I had to eat it. I didn't want to starve after all. I'd do anything for a bag of spices or some honey though.

I let my thoughts wonder while I ate my breakfast as I watched the capital get started. I could see people going about their business but could not discern friend or foe from this distance. The barracks where I lived was situated on a steep cliff, and the only way to get inside was through the front door. A strategically sound position.

I was just finishing when I heard a flurry of wings and the loud "Coo." of a pigeon. I stared at it through my window before getting up and gently bringing it into the room. A small letter was attached to its leg. A message for me.

My eyebrows rose in surprise at the contents, and it threw me into a whirlwind of movement and thought.

Sir Trenton,

I require your presence in the throne room immediately.

Amelie the first, Queen of Graza

A royal summons? I hadn't had one of _them_ in a while! Not since the gangs of Arbbyville had tried to take over the land. Of course, Arsleif had stopped that little problem for me. A summons like this was worrying. It could mean war. Or trouble I hadn't heard about. I hurriedly pulled of my night trousers (It had been too warm for a shirt, as was the norm for Grazian summers) and pulled my brown leggings on and my tight, red shirt. I settled my mother's necklace around my neck and after doing up the buckle of my sword belt, and attaching my cape I was ready to go.

I pulled open the door and stopped in my tracks. There, standing right in front of the door with an arm raised as if about to knock, was quite honestly the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

He was slim with a well cut form and a posture that oozed confidence. His left hand was resting on his sword hilt that hung at his waist. He had knapsack over his shoulder and two holdalls either side of his legs. His leggings were similar to mine, but he was wearing a white shirt and a red waistcoat over it. My eyes drifted back up to his face and I felt sparks fly in my veins as our eyes met. My brown connecting with his azure blue.

I realised we had been standing like this for a few minutes so I shook myself and held out my hand.

"Hi I'm Sir Trenton."

"Oh!" he exclaimed in recognition, and smiled. It was like a sunrise. "I'm Eli your new squire."

Oh dear God no! What had I done to deserve THIS! It would be intolerable, working side by side with somebody so… appealing.

You might think that a knight wouldn't need much politics. That my day consists of hitting people with sticks and I have no need of it. Well, you'd be wrong. I often get involved thus my poker face is very advanced. He saw none of my dismay.

"Would you like some help with your bags?" I asked reaching out to pick one up.

"No thanks. Weren't you going somewhere?"

Oh Shit! Already the boy was a distraction, I thought.

"Ahh yes." I stepped past him. "Your right, I better be going. Your room will be up those stairs there." I pointed haphazardly toward the corner and practically ran from the room.

This was going to be fun, I just know it.

* * *

Eli POV

Sir Trenton hastily departed, the door banging shut behind him. I stared for more seconds then were called for before heavily flopping down on a nearby bench.

My heart was thumping faster then I'd ever thought possible and large butterflies were running rampant in my stomach.

I let out a shaky sigh as my heart rate calmed down. My nerves, of course, were understandable. I'd just met my employer for the first time after all, and he was gorgeous.

He was much older than me, twenty-nine I'd been told. There was an age gap of seven years. That alone should deter me but well…

Those brown eyes, the black silky hair and sweet Watcher those muscles! It wasn't hard to imagine the defined chest that was hidden under the knightly garb…

No. Stop thinking about it. Having those kind of thoughts about your boss could only go badly.

I sighed again, picking up all my bags, and wishing selfishly that I'd taken him up on his offer. They held all my worldly possessions in and were very heavy. The only reason I hadn't was foolish male pride. I knew I was very lanky, with zero body mass and not very impressive to look at. Unlike Trenton with his strong arms and-

No. Do not complete that thought! I chastised myself as I shoved the heavy door open with my shoulder and for the second time that day ran into a different knight.

This one smiled and said "Hi! Your Eli right? The new squire? Your rooms there." He pointed and resumed speaking. "I'm Darren, I'd stay and chat but I'm on duty at the village gates and Trenton will have my hide if I'm late."

Did he not pause for breath? I marvelled as he pulled the door open and disappeared. I shook my head and felt a light grin creep onto my face as I pulled open the door he'd indicated.

The room was small, as expected. In the centre directly opposite the door was a single bed which had a plain trunk at the bottom. There was a large wardrobe, a washstand and a chamber pot on the left side and a very welcome bookcase on the other. I loved books, the majority of space in my bags were filled with all my precious volumes.

My thirst for the written word was just one of many reasons why I'd never fit in in my home village. Other people preferred to gossip with neighbours, or play games with children in their free time. The idea of staying indoors with a good book and no company was as ludicrous to them as the idea of spending the whole day talking to your neighbour about how somebody had allegedly been caught kissing so-so was to me.

I left my bags by the trunk and threw myself onto my new comfy bed. Finally I was here, after five long days of travel on blistered feet, and months of planning. The capital city, Forres, was all around me and it was just as beautiful as the books had promised. I was glad I hadn't been duped. Crawling back to that little scornful town with my tail between my legs would be _intolerable_. I'd rather die than do that. My pride again.

My mind began to wander while I rested and found its way back to the very interesting man I'd met. The 'he'll have my hide' comment from the other knight Darren suggested that Trenton was a slave driver. That idea rubbed me up the wrong way. It wasn't that I was work shy, more that I had my own pace and I preferred to work at it rather than someone else's. However the impression that I'd gained of him was of a much more laidback character, if a tad forgetful. You had to be to forget you were going somewhere like he had.

Of course, a small voice suggested, he could have been distracted by you. Maybe he found you attractive?

A nice pipe dream but that was all it could be. I was barely out of my teenage years and emotionally scarred, if he had any sense he'd run a mile. He probably would too. I had no clue how to deal with this.

I hadn't had an awful lot of experience in that area you see. The village I came from was just small enough for everyone to know each other but not small enough for everyone to know each other well thus the rampant gossiping. One small mistake, one involvement in a scandal and you were forever marked. A social pariah talked to only by family.

Forres seemed a much more welcoming, warm place and already I could see myself living a happy future here and if Trenton wanted a part in it… well that would be perfect.


	3. Chapter two- Champions

Disclaimer: I don't own Sims medieval.

Champions

Trenton's POV

I stalked away from the barracks, my cheeks stained red with embarrassment. I couldn't quite believe that I'd reacted like that. So what my new squire was gorgeous, I should not have gotten so distracted. Distractions will get you killed, my father had always said, and I agreed with him.

Before I'd returned to Graza, in my years of travel, I'd been mercenary. Selling my sword to the highest bidder, fighting for anybody with good motives and who offered coin. I had spent years fighting, six years in all, meaning I was almost perfect for my post.

I pushed my embarrassed thoughts away as I entered the castle. The entrance lead straight the throne room, a fact which always made me nervous. I was a soldier through and through and I hated the fact that something I had sworn to protect was so strategically unsound. The original designers of the building had concentrated too much an aesthetics than on keeping their monarch safe from death for my liking.

I had to admit though, the throne room was a thing of frigging beauty.

Three pillars held the floors above suspended, on either side of the room. A long, red carpet led toward a huge, marble throne and sat on it was the Queen. Amelie the first was tall, with long black hair that was currently curled around her ears in two buns. Her golden crown was settled on her head and despite its weight, she sat up straight, not a single vertebrae curling. She smiled regally at me as I advanced.

I sank to one knee, a sign of respect and asked about my summons, "You sent for me, Your Majesty?" I looked up at her from my vantage point. Her eyes were a darker brown than mine, with hazel flecks surrounding her pupils. The shape of them had been extenuated with eye charcoal, making them longer and sharper. Aside from that, her skin was devoid of make-up, preferring to show her natural mixed-race colour.

"Yes, Lord Trenton." She stood her back still straight. "We will discuss in private." She announced and led me up to her rooms.

When I closed the door the immaculate posture dropped. "Thank The Watcher you finally got here Trenton. My back was killing me." She massaged it gently and tossed her crown towards the pillow it rested on while she slept.

Her rooms didn't hold much furniture. A king-sized bed, which currently held a sleeping Lyon, table and chairs and a few multi-coloured rugs. The only thing the room had an excess of was art. The walls were covered in paintings and tapestries, all very famous. One of Amelie's ancestors were very passionate about art and had been a collector as had her own father.

"So, what's happening?" I asked. "Nothing bad, I hope?"

"Oh no. I was just wondering how your preparations are going?" She slumped into a chair with a sigh.

I felt a feeling of foreboding descend. "Preparations for what?"

She looked over. "You know, the tournament."

"What tournament? There's a tournament?" My mouth flopped open in surprise, and we stared at each other in horror.

"The War Games! You're our champion, Graza's representative! How can you not know! I've been planning this for weeks!" She yelled hysterically. There was a weak moan from the now awake and hung-over Lyon. I didn't really care about him though, Amelie had my full attention as she'd started to panic. I grabbed her arms.

"Don't worry, Amelie." I soothed. "Everything will be fine."

"It's in four days' time!"

"And I've fought wars with less notice!" She pulled in a deep breath and began to calm down. I waited until the wild look had left her eyes before letting her go and sat down in her other chair. "There will be a representative from each country, yes?"

She nodded "Six taking part including you." She looked towards the bed in worry as Lyon groaned again. "Can you do me a favour, Trenton? Next time you go out drinking with my husband can you try not to get him so… inebriated?"

I stared at the bed in amusement. "He did that to himself. I had nothing to do with it."

"Amelie," Lyon whined "I think I'm dying."

"I'll get the rest of the details from Silas and leave you two in peace." I stood up and walked back toward the door. "Hope you feel better Lyon."

"I hate you." He growled from deep under the blankets. I started to laugh.

Silas, the Royal Advisor to the Queen, was sat at a scribes table when I finally found him. He was tall and graceful, with long ebony hair pulled back from his face with a silver clip.

"Ah, Trenton, what can I do for you?" He asked looking up momentarily with a harried smile and looking back at the document he was writing.

"Well…" I ran my hands through my hair, feeling a tad sheepish about the whole affair, "I just found out about this tournament thing-"

"You mean you didn't_ know_?" Silas interrupted, looking back to me with an incredulous look.

I gave a shrug. "I have no clue how it happened either but now I do I need to know what's happening."

He leant back in his chair, laid his hands over his stomach and thought for a minute. "Well, the tournament will last for three days. There will be two fights on the first day, followed by a celebratory banquet that night. The next day two of the three victors, chosen at random, will fight each other. On the last day the two remaining victors battle for the winner's laurels."

Simple enough, I thought.

"As the host country's champion, you will be expected to welcome each competitor. Oh and Amelie has commissioned a new set of armour and a sword for you. The blacksmith should be done with it by tomorrow. I'll send you a note when it's ready." He scratched his face absently. "I can't think of anything else you'll need to know, really. Oh wait!" He quickly scrawled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "This is a list of all the competitors."

I saw my name at the top of the list and quickly read each name after. I could see that we were the only country who had put the head of the guard forward as the Champion, as I didn't recognise most of the names on the list. Apart from one. The second name from the bottom proclaimed the Champion of Crafthole as none other than Sir Geoffrey Middleton, otherwise known as Geoffrey the inebriated

It took me a few minutes of staring to finally except what my eyes were seeing. I suddenly found myself laughing. Sir Geoffrey Middleton? It couldn't be the same Sir Geoffrey, could it?

Silas raised an eyebrow and asked "Is something amiss?"

"I'm pretty sure I know Sir Geoffrey, though the idea of him becoming a knight…" I trailed off as I continued to laugh. "He is the very epitome of the word drunkard. In the two years I fought with him, I don't think I ever saw him sober for more than an hour or two."

I hadn't seen Geoffrey since I was twenty-two, when we had worked on a few mercenary jobs together. We had lost touch after he'd accepted a job that would have taken me too close to Graza and we'd had to part ways. I'd missed him terribly. God, I hoped it was him.

"Well, thanks for your help Silas," we shook hands "It's appreciated. Now I better get on. I'm going to have a busy week."

Eli's POV

It was raining. I could feel rivulets of water running down my face and soaking my thin clothing right the way through, making it cling to my back and chest as I ran back home. Mother would be so angry when she saw how wet I had gotten, I thought, as I passed other houses in the village. I could almost already hear her chastising me and it made me run faster both to try and ease her wrath and also to experience it faster.

She had been dancing around me for so long I'd almost missed her anger. Or maybe I'd just missed being treated as a normal child, I mused, as I slipped in the mud on the garden path and reached our home.

"Mother!" I called as I pushed the door closed behind me, just in time to miss the first flash of the lightning. It rumbled ominously as I looked around the small kitchen of our home, and saw our dinner for the evening cooking in the fireplace unattended. That was my first clue that something was wrong.

"Mother?" I called again. Then called "Father?" No answer from either parent. As I crossed over to my parent's room, the thunder boomed again causing me to jump. I reached for the handle then paused. I could hear the now familiar sobbing of my father from inside the room. What could cause my father to cry?

I slowly turned the handle and…

Was awoken by somebody knocking on my door. I stared in confusion, my sleep addled mind still partially in my old home, about to open the door and be confronted with the scene inside. Another knock finally pulled me from my memories, followed by a child yelling "Mister Eli?"

I dragged myself to my feet, yawned, and pulled open the door.

A small girl, with short, tangled black hair, a grin with a missing front tooth and a very dirty face smiled at me. "You Trenton's new squire?" She asked.

"Yes." I looked at her dress, which was also dirty and her shoes that I was pretty sure were broken and after she didn't speak prompted "Does he want something from me?"

"Want's ya to meet him at the trainin' grounds." She looked me up and down curiously and asked, "You're not from round 'ere, are ya?"

I shook my head no, as I belted my sword back to my side.

"I can show ya where it is if ya like? For a price, of course." She looked into the room and craned her head around, curiously.

"Of course." I agreed. "Will this suffice?" I asked and tipped a handful of coins into her palm. Her face lit up into a wide grin and she said "Thanks, Mister! I've never had this many gold coins before."

I returned her grin, slightly amused by her childish enthusiasm while I stepped out into the hallway and held the heavy door open for her, now much easier to handle without all my bags. "What's your name?"

"People call me 'elena the urchin." She replied as she ducked under my arm and walked down the stairs.

"Don't you have any parents?" I asked as we passed through the area in front of Trenton's rooms.

She glowered at the floor and muttered. "Ain't got none. Both died years ago."

I'd thought so. I nodded and said "I know a little of what it's like."

"Your parents are dead 'swell?" She looked at me curiously.

"Not exactly. My mother died when I was eleven and father went crazy not long after. I never saw him again so for all intents and purposes he may as well be dead."

"Trenton's an orphan 'swell ya know. An' the Queen. Guess that's why they keep me 'round." She gave a small smile as we walked down the hill and past a waterfall.

I filed that information away for further examination. "You take a lot of messages for people then?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. It's alright work. I like it." Her smile widened a little, as we turned up a hill. "I get t' meet nice people 'nd the Queen always 'as a message for me if business is slow."

By now I could see the large training grounds and had already found Trenton standing with his sword drawn determinately hacking at a wooden training dummy. The encounter from this morning returned to my mind, as I watched him perform a graceful move that sent the dummy swinging backwards. Considering himself victorious, he slid his sword back into its scabbard and turned towards. Then he waved and Helena waved back.

"I'll see you around, Helena." I told her as Trenton started fiddling with something in his pack

"Good luck!" She called as she started to walk away.

I took a deep breath and walked towards my boss.

Author note

Well, this took longer than expected to write. I hope Helena is suitably urchiny enough for you. Don't worry she'll be back. I have plans.

Thanks for the reviews. They give me warm glow inside


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